Vox Orbis, directed by Mark Keane, will perform the Irish premiere of Arnesen’s Stabat Mater on Friday, March 14 at 8pm in the Galway Cathedral.
The choir will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra led by the Galway Ensemble in Residence, ConTempo Quartet, as well as local musicians including Terry Cooke, percussion; Pat Jones, French horn; Raymond O’Donnell, organ; and Teresa Turner, double bass. The soprano soloist for the performance is Katy Kelly.
Vox Orbis is a female voice choir based in Galway city and they perform a range of choral music. In 2024, they won first prize in the Church Music Competition at the Cork International Choral Festival and completed a weekend choral residency at Norwich RC Cathedral, where Galwegian, David Grealy, is currently the Director of Music.
Arnesen is a leading international composer from Norway and his works feature harmonic accompaniments and textures. His setting of the Stabat Mater includes most of the original text, but also features a contemporary setting of a poem written by a child with cancer and her nurse, entitled ‘What are children to the Lord’.
The programme will open with Haydn’s Te Deum and conclude with Mozart’s Regina Caeli, both of which have been arranged by conductor Mark Keane.
Tickets €20 by donation are available on Eventbrite or at the door on the night.
